Mayuri Kurotsuchi
Mayuri Kurotsuchi is the captain of the Twelfth Squad in the Gotei 13 and the 2nd president of the Shinigami Research Institue. His lieutenant is Nemu Kurotsuchi, his artificially-created "daughter". Background Physical Appearance Mayuri's appearance has a skeletal-like look to it with a skull-like visage. His face is painted entirely white with the center portion of his face painted like a black cross with the exception of his nose and a small portion of his lower chin. His chin has a long golden attachment reminiscent of an Egyptian Pharaoh beard, and a golden frame around his face. His eyes are a golden color as well as his teeth, and he constantly bares his teeth giving the appearance of him constantly smiling. Both his ears are seemingly replaced with round-wided, short golden cones. His fingernails are blue and, with the exception of the fingernail on his right middle finger, are all short. The one long fingernail is as long as the finger itself. His blue hair is styled into "horns", that slope down from the top of his head and frame his face, which when viewed from the front looks much like a Pharaoh's crown. His whole body, even his face and hands, has been painted black and white. He repaints his make-up every morning, as he always removes it before going to bed. He wears the standard Shinigami garments along with a standard, long-sleeved captain's haori ''with an olive green coloration on the coat's underside, and the Twelfth Squad's rhombus symbol on the coat's backside. Without his makeup, Mayuri has blue hair and honey gold eyes. He has small, slatted portcullises with multiple earrings in place of where his ears would be, and his body is covered in scars. Personality Mayuri Kurotsuchi is a researcher and personifies the stereotype of the mad scientist. By his early actions during the Ryoka Invasion, he is displayed as sadistic and cruel. He sees everyone and everything not as a living being, but as an object to be researched-including himself. He has little respect or regard for most others, and was even willing to turn his own men (who were not aware of his plans) into living bombs in an attempt to capture Uryu Ishida and Orihime Inoue for experimentation. He also withheld vital information about the Bounts from the other Shinigami in order to capture one as a research subject for himself. However, while he usually shows disregard for life, he has been known to warn people of possible dangers when they present themselves. As a scientist, Mayuri despises perfection, as he believes that achieving such a state leaves him with absolutely nothing more to strive for - namely imagination, knowledge and improvements - which would result in nothing but despair; because of this, he derided Szayelaporro Granz for claiming to be a "perfect life form". It is known that Mayuri's favorite food is pike fish, and that he does not like onion. One of his free-time activities is reading every character published in Seireitei Communication. He himself publishes a serialization in the journal, titled "Effective Medication for the Brain", which apparently contains detailed instructions on preparation of medicine and their application. Surprisingly, it is highly popular among the readers. In battle, Mayuri likes to toy with his opponent, torturing them little by little until they can hardly stand. This was shown in both the fight with Uryū and his Espada counterpart Szayelaporro. Every time he fights he uses it as an experiment testing himself and his opponent little by little. He also uses it as an opportunity to implant microbes or other things in case they get away. Before engaging, though, he will make extensive research on his possible opponents to tilt the chance of winning in his favor. It is seen that, before the Winter War, he is busy reading in the library with a note on the door saying, "Enter and Die." He's shown to be doing this every time before he fights, against both the Bounts and the Espada. While Mayuri holds life in disregard in favor of his research, he does believe in his duties as a member of the Gotei 13, and that all members of the organization are to be prepared to give up their lives in order to protect the Seireitei. To this end, he would gladly cut down any former comrades, even if they are under the enemy's control, test many of his experimental drugs on such comrades for the sake of his research which he believes to be the sake of the Seireitei,. History Powers and Abilities Intelligence *Genius Intellect - Mayuri Kurotsuchi is the most intelligent, scientific, and inventive mind in Soul Society. **Master Scientist/Inventor - As the head of the Shinigami Research Institute, Mayuri is a talented inventor and scientist, having created a number of devices and techniques to aid him in battle. **Master Chemist - Being the current head of the Research and Development Institute, Mayuri is an adept chemist. **Master Strategist - Mayuri has a talent for being well-prepared. He takes many precautions before engaging in personal combat with an adversary, usually studying them through various methods and always has a contingency plan if something doesn't work out as expected. Body Modifications *Body Modifications - Mayuri has done extensive research on modifying bodies, and he has upgraded a variety of his own body parts to function as weapons and provide him with useful abilities. **Nikushibuki (''Flesh Splash) - When Mayuri stabs himself with his Zanpakuto while in its sealed state, it shifts him into a liquid form. Doing so doesn't kill him, as it is a last resort technique, but instead simply leaves him unable to attack or be attacked, making it an effective escape tool. He can move around and speak in this form. He reforms after a few days, but without any of his previous body modifications. This ability is a result of the extensive amount of experimentation he has performed on himself. Zanjutsu Prowess *Expert Swordsman Specialist - While not as proficient in swordsmanship as some other captains, Mayuri is skilled enough to hold his own in a fight. His expertise with his Zanpakutō lies in his effective use of its abilities while in either Shikai or Bankai, rather than his swordsmanship skill. He relies on those abilities, or his pre-planned strategies, rather than actually engaging in melee combat with his opponent. Mayuri seems to be ambidextrous, as he wields his Zanpakutō in his right hand and his scythe-ear in his left (often simultaneously). Kido Prowess *Kido Expert - According to Shunsui Kyoraku, Mayuri is one of the most proficient Kido users in Soul Society. He can release a destructive form of Kido silently from the palms of his hands, blasting holes through walls, and instantly create Kido barriers to protect others. Shunpo Prowess *Shunpo Expert - Mayuri was shown easily outmaneuvering Uryu Ishida's use of the Quincy Hirenkyaku technique to set up a surprise attack. Mayuri points out that Shunpo can counter Hirenkyaku but that it's very tiring for him. He was not fast enough to outmaneuver with Uryu when he entered the Quincy: Letzt Stil, making him at least an expert in the technique. Other Skills *Enhanced Endurance Spiritual Power *Great Spiritual Power - As a captain of the Gotei 13, Kurotsuchi boasts a great amount of spiritual energy. His Reiatsu is pink. Zanpakuto Ashisogi Jizo (Leg-Cutting Jizo) - Mayuri's Zanpakuto's takes the form of a ordinary katana. The guard is wrapped in white cloth, and has several spiky protrusions sticking out right below the blade, which appear to resemble leaves. The hilt is pink. Unlike most Shinigami, his Zanpakuto's sheath hangs directly in front of him, instead of to his side as they are commonly worn, through a visibly modified hook on the end of the hilt of Ashisogi Jizo. *Shikai - Ashisogi Jizo's Shikai command is "Claw Out". Ashisogi Jizo's blade glows and transforms into a deformed trident with curved, serpentine blades. The middle blade is straighter and longer than the side blades, and appears to ascend from the guard, which is shaped like a baby's head with hands clasped in prayer (as Ksitigarbha is depicted), all mounted on his sword's normal hilt, which has more ornate spiky protrusions on either side, which resemble golden leaves right below the guard. The baby's mouth secretes a poisonous vapor in this form at various intervals. Shikai Special Ability - The weapon works like the venom of a spider bite; when an opponent is stabbed by Ashisogi Jizo, it severs the brain signals controlling the neural impulses for movement in the limbs of the victim, regardless of where they were struck. But, unlike regular paralysis, the pain receptors and nerve endings are unaffected by the weapon, so the victim can still feel pain, even in a paralyzed limb. Healing the stab wound does not immediately remove the inflicted paralysis. *Bankai: 'Konjiki Ashisogi Jizo '(Golden Leg-Cutting Jizo) - The baby's head on the guard opens its mouth as it produces a giant creature with the body of a caterpillar in a red cape, with a grotesque golden baby's head and arms, and a silver halo hovering around its head. Near the back of the halo are 4 bells, 2 on each side. While in this form, his Zanpakuto returns to its sealed state. It emits its own red Reiatsu upon release. In this state, the creature seems to follow Mayuri's verbal commands. While using his Bankai, Mayuri's Reiatsu aura turns red. Bankai Special Ability - The creature breathes a poisonous derivative of Mayuri's blood, which is lethal to anyone who breathes it, aside from Mayuri and Nemu. The poison spreads through a very wide area, and it is almost impossible to avoid. Konjiki Ashisogi Jizo's poison is very potent, as Szayelaporro's body started to break down immediately after it was introduced. The poison has an antidote, which Nemu keeps behind her lieutenant's badge, and which Mayuri keeps on his person. Mayuri can change the composition of the poison as well, ensuring that no foolproof antidote can ever be manufactured to cure it, and no immunity is developed against it. Even if the opponent does not breathe, the poison will still enter their body. So far, the only way to remain unaffected by the poison is to repel it with a sufficient amount of Reiatsu. Anyone within the vicinity of the person repelling the poison will also be unaffected. *Retractable Blades *Self-Destruct Protocol Equipment * Inventions * Relationships Family *Nemu Kurotsuchi (Artificially-created "Daughter" and Lieutenant) Friends/Allies *Uryu Ishida (to a degree) Enemies *The Vanderich *Sosuke Aizen *Hollows *The Espada **Szayelaporro Granz *Kageroza Inaba *The Reigai Background in Other Media * Quotes * Trivia * See Also * Category:Characters Category:Heroes Category:Males Category:Shinigami Category:Shinigami Captains Category:Twelfth Squad Category:Gotei 13 Category:Heroes Alliance Category:Genius Intellects Category:Expert Swordsmen Specialists Category:Kido Experts Category:Shunpo Experts Category:Captain-class Fighters Category:Bankai Users Category:Major Characters Category:Master Strategist and Tacticians Category:Heroes Alliance Lieutenants Category:Poison-Type Zanpakuto Users Category:Bleach Series Characters